Tampa Bay Wave (Wave) has selected 7 tech companies to join their Post-Accelerator cohort, a program created for later-stage technology companies with proven traction in the marketplace.

The Post-Accelerator Program is a cohort focused specifically on companies that would fall into the Launch and Grow segments of Wave’s BUILD-LAUNCH-GROW framework. These are companies that have launched a product or service, have market traction, a minimum revenue/investment threshold, and other criteria that designate them as companies focused on growth.

Tampa Bay Wave is one of the only accelerators in the world to have a Post-Accelerator program where later stage companies can leverage benefits as they continue to scale their company. Due to increased demand by later-stage technology companies, Tampa Bay Wave created the Post-Accelerator program for startups who have already reached a mature level and are not seeking a traditional 90-day accelerator program, however, still value ongoing peer-to-peer mentoring opportunities, access to a mentor and investor network, and more. Additionally, each company in the program will be assigned to a dedicated Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) who will guide them through the program, providing counsel and connections to other critical resources.

Among the 7 new cohort members, 5 are promising Marketing/Ad Tech and Health Tech startups, two of the Tampa ecosystem’s most successful verticals. These 7 selected companies have achieved over $10.5M in 12-month trailing revenue, collectively have 96 total employees, and were founded an average of over 3.5 years ago. The capital efficiency of these companies is remarkable as 4 of the companies have been built with $20,000 or less in cash invested.

Applications were open for a brief period directly following Wave’s successful inaugural TechDiversity Accelerator program. As a continued commitment to TechDiversity, 4 of the 7 companies have a woman, minority, or veteran founders.

“Tampa Bay Wave is delighted to welcome our inaugural Post-Accelerator cohort to the Tampa tech ecosystem. Wave is committed to providing every available resource to launch these promising tech companies to scalable, successful ventures” said Linda Olson, President, and founder of Tampa Bay Wave. “We look forward to fueling these startups with access to our valuable services and networks, further helping to close the critical early stage capital gap in our budding tech community.”

Tampa Bay Wave’s nationally recognized accelerator program is renowned for helping entrepreneurs transform their ventures into sustainable businesses that have a strong advantage in the tech industry. These selected companies are part of Wave’s Build-Launch-Grow business strategy that is designed to help accelerator companies advance their startup to the next phase within 6 to 12 months of starting the program. The program will start on October 16, 2018

“This Post-Accelerator cohort is a first for Tampa Bay Wave and one of the first of its kind for the accelerator industry. We are recruiting companies that have proven criteria for growth and success,” said Rich Heruska, Interim Accelerator Director. “Tampa Bay Wave will accelerate that growth and by doing so will accelerate the success of our mission in the process. We are excited for these seven companies and look forward to serving them over the coming weeks and months.”

The Wave Accelerator program launched in March 2013 and typically runs two-three cohorts per year in addition to their Build, Launch, and Grow post-accelerator segments. The current Post-Accelerator program is Wave’s eighteenth cohort.

“These new companies join our post-accelerator program with a lot of promise,” said Olson. “This cohort will be another testament to the fact that regardless of whether companies start here in Tampa Bay, they certainly can stay here and grow here.”

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